Wednesday we moved from Deerlick Creek to Huntsville, Alabama. We are staying at the US Space & Rocket Center RV Park which is right next to the US Space & Rocket Center (about a 5 min. walk). I have been wanting to go back to Huntsville as I spent most of 1968 there doing my AIT in the US Army.
Our Route
Our Campsite - note the structure behind our campsite. It is a shield to stand behind when the Space Campers fire small rockets that they built - part of the Space Camp program. We get to see them fire them most every day.
The RV Park and the US Space & Rocket Center
A-12 Blackbird (predecessor to the SR-71 Blackbird)
Front View
Space Camp Living Quarters - neat building
Another View
Lots of rockets - Atlas, Redstone, Saturn, etc.
The only "full stack" space shuttle display in the world
Saturn 5 - you can't imagine how big this thing is - the photo just doesn't capture it (363 feet tall)
Saturn 5 rocket engine - Donna for scale
Donna walking under the 5 engine nozzles
The Nosecone
Miss Baker's grave
Big George - Miss Baker's Husband Is Buried Beside Her
One of the first mockups of Skylab
Skylab - another view
Besides the Saturn 5 and the Space Shuttle this was probably my favorite thing - this is the actual command module from the Apollo 16 mission that went to the moon and back
View of damage to heat shield
Moon rock gathered by Alan Bean - Apollo 12
Alan Bean's Signature
Mobile Quarantine Facility - Actual one used in the Apollo 12 program
Just had to show this - these are Hawk missiles - this is what I was trained on here in 1968 (actually was trained on the radar and control van for the Hawk System - not the actual missiles). There was so much to see here that the pics don't do it justice - really a worthwhile place to see if you have any interest in science, space or the military - lots of military equipment on display that I didn't mention.
Hiking around the RV park is interesting - the woods must have been a dumping ground for excess parts at one time - there is a lot of rocket fuselage parts, plane parts, etc. near the trails - this large airplane part is not far from our campsite.
